


Demons from the Past

by Doylebaby



Category: actor rps
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-27
Updated: 2013-04-05
Packaged: 2017-12-06 16:43:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/737872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doylebaby/pseuds/Doylebaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bournemouth is plagued by an arsonist.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Bournemouth, it's University and the university's new Library are 'victim' of my imagination and nothing described in the story has ever happened there. Bournemouth was randomly chosen. *g*

Demons from the Past

~ Part One ~ 

 

He watched as the flames greedily licked along the wooden windowsill, the yellow orange tongues creeping further and further until they had consumed all that was in range, reaching higher for more.

He could hear the sirens getting closer and retreated further back into the shadows but kept watching.

He recognised them by now. The big one, who was in charge, was easy to spot with his yellow helmet and two black stripes. He was giving orders to his crew, a short fellow who still seemed to be a trainee and a sturdier, bigger fellow. They rolled out a hose and at the instructions of a colleague, were rapidly heading for the corner of the building trying to prevent the flames from jumping over to another office block.

He caught snatches of a conversation.

“… controlled… empty, there’s no danger…”

Damn! He clenched his fists in anger, they weren’t even going to do anything more than control the fire! They weren’t going inside and…

He turned away from the building, biting his lip until he tasted blood. He had to think of something else, something that would get him what he wanted.

The dark shadows were slowly receding as the sun came up, the empty old place now a smoking ruin.

The fire fighters covered in soot were gathering all their equipment and returned tiredly to their station.

Another day had begun.

~*~*~*~

Orlando opened the door and threw his books on the couch, not taking the time to check whether they stayed there. He dashed out again, pulling the door shut and ran across the campus towards Jumbucks Café, fairly certain that that was where Lij and Billy would spend their lunch break.

Dodging a couple of students debating in the middle of the street, he continued on his run, waving at Craig who was on his way to the gym.

Slowing down just a little, Orlando was still going at a fairly swift pace when he hurried inside Jumbucks, narrowly avoiding a girl carrying a tray with her lunch on it. She threw him a withering glance, Orlando didn’t even see it.

He spotted Billy and Lij in a corner, Lij with a laptop in front of him and Billy reading the local newspaper.

“I’ve done it, guys!” Orlando shouted excitedly and his friends looked up.

“You’ve done what?” Elijah asked.

“They’ve approved my application,” Orlando panted, “I’m going to Borneo at the end of the year; I’m going to be part of the orang-utan conservation program… for eight weeks!” He dropped his head on the table on his arms, trying to regain his breath now that he had shared the biggest news he’d had in a very long time.

Billy clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s great, man; you’ve been talking about that since Professor Wenham told you he’d been in Borneo.”

Orlando sighed, Professor Wenham, yeah. “What can I say Bills, it just a great opportunity for someone who has just turned twenty-one, right? I mean, I get to work with orang-utans, observe them, study their habitat…” Orlando got all dreamy-eyed thinking about it.

“Lucky bastard!” Elijah said a little sulkily. “You’re going to Borneo _and_ to Iceland as well. You’re getting all the neat assignments.”

Orlando rolled his eyes. “Fuck Lij, let me tell you that Environmental Law is anything but neat, that’s what I’ve been studying the past three hours.” 

Billy leant over. “I bet Professor Wenham was available to answer all your questions?”

Orlando blushed and kicked Billy under the table. “He’s my Tutor of course he was available and he’s only trying to be nice.” 

It was Billy and Elijah’s turn to roll their eyes. “Trying?” Lij smirked. “If there wasn’t such a thing as a prohibition against student/teacher dating, I don’t think it would be just trying.”

“Lij!” Orlando hissed, looking around to see if anybody was listening in on their conversation.

Elijah shrugged. “No one is paying attention, Orlando, stop being paranoid.”

“I just don’t want to get him into trouble, Lij, you know sometimes hinting at things like that can cause problems.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Elijah made a dismissive gesture, “so when were you going to Iceland again?”

“Three weeks from now,” Orlando said proudly, “I’ve really been lucky to get assigned to this expedition; I mean field work with the National Trust is great, but actually going to study geysers in Iceland…” He trailed off lost in thought.

Then he caught Billy’s frowning expression while reading the newspaper and he scooted closer to read the bit that seemed to have caught his friend’s interest.

_As of yet, no suspect has been apprehended. According to Chief of Police Mortensen, the little evidence that has been found is severely damaged by the fire. Last night’s incident is the third in as many days. So far, all buildings that went up in flames were uninhabited._

“Some people are nutters” Orlando said after reading the small article and both Elijah and Billy nodded in agreement.

“So what are you up to this afternoon?” Orlando asked Billy, stealing half of a forgotten sandwich from Billy’s plate.

“Oi, gerroff, get your own,” Billy chuckled as he plucked the sandwich from Orlando’s fingers.

Orlando pouted but Billy just waggled his fingers at him. “I've still got a lecture to go to and I’ve got a date with Moira tonight at the library.”

“Oh how romantic” Elijah interjected while he batted his eyelashes.

Billy slapped him against the back of his head. “We think it is, cunt!”

Elijah blew a raspberry at him.

Orlando shoved his chair backward and stood up. “The intelligence level at this table just dropped considerably, which means it’s time for me to leave.” He flicked an imaginary hair of his shoulder turned on his heel and stalked to the door. When he got there, he turned round and made a face at his friends, who in turn both flipped him the bird.

~*~*~*~

He’d chosen his next target well, this would definitely give him what he wanted. He just had to wait a few more hours, make certain he wasn’t noticed, but that wouldn’t be a problem. Not here in this place.

He looked the building up and down again, it was really perfect. A small grin graced his face as he strolled leisurely away; it was time for a drink.

~*~*~*~

Orlando plonked the pizza on the table. “Dinner’s served!” he yelled at his roommate and Elijah hurried to get at least one slice before Orlando would tuck in. You wouldn’t believe it when you laid eyes on Orlando’s slender frame but he could pack away quite a bit without blinking an eye.

Polishing off the last piece, Orlando leant back in his chair, patting his stomach. “Now that was one good pizza,” he grinned at Elijah.

Elijah rolled his eyes. “Man, I’m surprised you can still fit in your clothes… you’ve eaten more than half,” he exclaimed.

Orlando stood and hoisted his trousers up, after all he’d eaten they still hung dangerously low on his hips. Elijah was quite sure that if Orlando would suck in his breath just a little they would drop to his knees. 

Orlando grabbed the empty pizza carton. “I’m going to do some copying at the library, Lij, see you in a bit.” He grabbed his student pass and was about to step outside when Elijah called after him.

“It’s almost eight; Chris is never going to let you in, what’s the hurry anyway?”

Orlando held up a book _‘Borneo Wildlife’_ , “I borrowed this from Professor Wenham and I want to copy some interesting bits before I return it to him tomorrow. Chris has let me slip inside before; if I’m quick I can be finished in ten minutes, before anyone else notices.”

Elijah rolled his eyes. “You can charm anyone, can’t you, Orli?”

Orlando just grinned and waved. Outside he threw the pizza carton in the bin and hurried towards the library. He looked at his watch, ten to eight, with a bit of luck he could just make it in time. As he looked up, he ran into someone and was startled to see it was Professor Wenham. They both reached out to steady the other and then smiled. 

“Sorry Professor I wasn’t paying attention,” he apologised while he tried to hide the book behind his back, realising he hadn’t asked the Professor’s permission to make some copies.

Professor Wenham looked stern. “Now Orlando what did I tell you about seeing each other outside college.”

Orlando smiled a little shyly. “Sorry, David, I forgot.” He was getting a little nervous and looked at his watch again.

“Hot date?” David asked as he noticed Orlando’s nervous looks.

Orlando shook his head. “No, not really, I just have to be somewhere on time.”

“Well, off you go then, I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Orlando.”

Orlando smiled relieved. “Thanks, yes, uhm… goodnight, sir… David.” The man always seemed to be able to fluster him.

Orlando had forgotten all about Professor Wenham as soon as he turned the corner and he broke out in a run to reach the library on time. He pushed at the door and it was still open, slipping inside, he looked around for Chris.

Chris Lee was one of the older librarians, he was very helpful and kind, he usually stayed until closing time and he’d been very lenient the few times Orlando asked for some last minute time to find an essay, do some copying or something else that somehow always needed to be done at closing time.

Orlando didn’t see Chris – he was probably checking that everyone left the building. Even though they had a tannoy system, which he used to warn people about closing time, he always checked personally.

Orlando went to the lift and got in, punching the button for the fourth floor. He would explain to Chris when he was finished and hoped the older man wouldn’t be too upset with him.

The copying room was at the back of the building because of the noise, it was quite isolated with no windows, and it held a number of large machines and the door to a huge walk-in supply cupboard. 

Orlando went to the one machine that was still on. He had marked the pages he wanted to copy that afternoon and very carefully placed the book on the glass. He had done only two pages when the machine told him there was no more paper. With a sigh, Orlando retrieved the book, closed it, and put it on a large sorting table.

He looked around; there was no extra paper so he would have to get it from the storage room. Realising this was going to take a lot longer than he had anticipated, Orlando hurriedly open the door to the large cupboard and nearly tripped over a couple of boxes that had been left right behind it. All empty of course. He wrestled his way to the back of the room to where some new boxes stood, not noticing when the door closed behind him.

Taking his penknife from his pocket, he sliced the plastic bands and opened a box, pulling out a ream of paper, enough to fill the machine for several hundred copies. He made his way back, pushing the empty boxes aside. He went straight for the machine and pulled the empty drawer open, put the paper inside and turned to grab the book

That’s when Orlando noticed the machine was turned off and his book was gone, as were the copied pages. He frowned, why would anyone take the book, unless… He quickly walked to the door and tried the handle… locked! Orlando wriggled it up and down, but it was no use. He started knocking on the door and when that didn’t help, he banged with his fist, calling out at the same time.

“Hey, can anyone hear me? I’m locked in!” he shouted.

After ten minutes of banging and shouting Orlando realised it was going to be a long night, unless Elijah got worried and kicked up a fuss, he would be here until morning.

He made himself comfortable in one of the chairs, cursing his own stupidity; on the other hand thank goodness he hadn’t had a lot to drink. It was definitely going to be a very long night.

~*~*~*~

Dominic sat on the battered old couch, his feet on the coffee table reading a motor magazine when he was poked rudely in the shoulder which caused him to drop the magazine and look up a little startled.

“What?” he asked a little annoyed before he realised who had been poking him.

Sean was scowling at him and pointed in the opposite direction. “Kitchen duty,” he growled. 

Dom slowly stood and headed for the kitchen, he wasn’t going to protest, not to Bean anyway. The man was always distant and grumpy, hardly the friendly sort to talk to.

In the kitchen Karl was cheerfully chopping up carrots, he smiled when Dominic walked in. “I was wondering when I’d get some assistance. You can peel the potatoes,” he grinned, pointing at the huge pile of potatoes waiting for Dom.

Dom rolled his eyes; he knew that was one of the duties when they were on call and he didn’t mind, as long as there was someone telling him what to do.

Karl was ready with the carrots, dumping the whole lot in a pan with water and putting it on the stove. He bent down, opened the fridge, and suddenly bellowed. “Which one of you wankers has pinched my parsley?”

Dom, startled by the sudden shout, almost cut his finger in half and looked at Karl in irritation as he stuck his finger in his mouth.

“What are you screeching about?” he mumbled around his finger.

Karl held up a pathetic little bundle of parsley to make his point. At that moment the kitchen was invaded by Eric, their Crew Manager and Sean, both with a sprig of parsley hanging from the side of their mouths.

“Problem?” Eric asked in his deep voice, while he raised his eyebrows, even while talking the parsley stayed in place.

Karl looked at him and then sighed dramatically. “And they expect me to cook them a proper meal.”

Dom started snickering and soon the others followed until Karl couldn’t keep a straight face himself and joined them.

That’s when the bell sounded.

“Blast!” Karl threw the parsley down and turned off the stove, Dom did the same with the knife, and potatoes and they hurried to the locker room, putting on jacket, helmet and boots. Dom thoughtlessly tucked his trousers in his boots and grabbed his gloves. 

Hugh and Marton slithered down the pole, getting their gear on with efficient moves, which Dom admired to no end. Karl was getting the specifics from Isaacs their communications officer and Dom turned away to take his place in the fire truck.

“Dominic.” A harsh voice behind him made him turn back.

Bean again.

“Yes?” he asked politely.

“Trousers,” was all that Bean said.

Dom looked confused down at his trousers and wondered what the hell Bean was talking about, then he realised and flushed.

“Thanks,” he muttered and started to pull his trousers out of his boots. He cursed his stupidity and the fact that it had to be Bean again who noticed of course. 

One of the first things every trainee learned was the proper way to wear a uniform; one of the most important rules was that trousers were never tucked in to prevent anything – including burning debris – from dropping into your boots.

Dom hurriedly climbed into the fire engine next to Karl, while Sean and Hugh were sitting across from them. Bana sat up front with their driver, Marton. 

He shifted a little nervously, he wondered if he would ever get used to it, wouldn’t feel the butterflies in his stomach whenever they were on their way to another emergency. He wasn’t scared or anything just… 

“Nervous, Dom?” Karl asked, giving him an encouraging grin. 

At Dom’s slight nod, he nodded. “Don’t worry about it, we all feel a little apprehensive, but once we’re doing our job we’re too focussed to worry.”

Dom smiled gratefully; glad to hear it was normal to feel this way. “So where is the emergency?” he asked Karl curiously.

Karl frowned. “Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus.”

“Oh shit!” Dom breathed shocked.

“What’s wrong?” Hugh asked looking at his watch. “Three more minutes, by the way.”

“I’ve got friends there,” Dom explained. As of yet, he hadn’t been involved in a call out where people he knew might be in danger.

“It’s a large place, Dom, let’s hope they’re okay” Hugh tried to reassure him.

Dom nodded, of course Billy, Lij and Orlando would be fine, still he did worry a little.

“Try to stay focused, Monaghan,” Bean said gruffly, “You’ll be of no use to anyone if you’re losing it.”

Dom grimaced, Bean was right of course, but did he have to be so bad-tempered?

They turned another corner arriving at the entrance of campus where a police officer jogged towards them. He shouted over the noise, “It’s the library!”

tbc


	2. Part 2

** Part Two **

Elijah was frantically looking for his trainers. There was a fire somewhere on the campus, he’d heard the sirens of the fire engines and he needed to know that Billy and Orlando were okay.

He grabbed a jacket from the coat rack and pulled the door open. At the same time, Billy pushed the door open to get inside, which resulted in both of them tumbling to the floor.

Billy pushed himself off Elijah when they finally were untangled. “Jeez, Lij, what’s the hurry?” he asked in annoyance. 

“In case you’re deaf, there’s a fire somewhere on campus” Lij replied irritably, pushing past Billy to get outside.

Billy rolled his eyes. “Yes, I know, it’s at the library, Moira and I were interrupted quite rudely by the fire alarm, but we managed to get outside without a problem. I just came here to let you know we’re okay.” 

Elijah sighed. “I’m glad you’re okay Billy, I was just on my way to check where the fire was and to see if you and Orlando were fine. Is Orlando alright too?”

“Why wouldn’t he be alright?” Billy asked a little confused.

Elijah grabbed Billy’s arm and shook it. “Because he was at the library too, he was going to ask Chris to let him in to do some last minute copying!”

Billy frowned. “I haven’t seen him, and I’m pretty sure Chris said everyone was out.”

“The why isn’t he here? Doesn’t he realise that I’m worried?” Elijah said heatedly.

Billy pulled Elijah’s arm. “He’s probably watching and forgot all about you being a mother hen,” he reassured Elijah, “but let’s check to be certain okay?”

They hurried towards to the library.

***

Now this was more like it. The building had been full of people and now they needed to make sure everyone was safe.

He nodded and grinned, they would be going inside soon; he looked at his watch, soon… very soon.

Hold on… what was going on? What were those kids up to?

He sidled a little closer, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

***

Sean groaned as soon as he noticed the local police force. “That’s all I need,” he grumbled. 

“Don’t pay him any attention, Sean, our fearless leader will deal with him, just… try to be polite, okay?” Karl looked at Sean vaguely worried.

Sean waved his hand. “I’m not going to upset anyone, Karl, as long as he stays away from me,” he replied.

He got out of the truck rolling the side open and grabbed the first hose. “Dominic, you’re with me,” he called at the other man. 

They both lifted the hose and connected it to the standpipe, while Hugh and Karl were picking up the other hose.

“Bean,” a voice behind him said. 

Sean closed his eyes briefly, then he opened them and turned round. “Mortensen,” he nodded. Luckily, the man walked on without paying him any further attention and Sean was grateful for that.

There was some commotion behind him and he turned around to see a couple of students anxiously talking to the older librarian. 

He shrugged and went to check if Dominic had connected and locked the hose correctly to the water outlet. So far, the fire seemed to have started on the left of the building on the third floor; Hugh and Karl were already aiming their hose soon joined by Dom and Sean.

 

“Poole is sending West Station this way, they’ll arrive any minute” Chief Mortensen said to Eric.

Eric nodded. “As soon as they arrive I’ll send my men inside to check out the building.  
Everyone was evacuated?” He asked the Chief casting a look around, frowning at some students who were behaving in a rather panicky fashion. 

“Yes, they were about to close and the older man,” the Chief pointed at Chris, “was just checking for any students lingering. I…”

At that moment, the librarian who hurried towards the two men interrupted him. “Gentlemen, there’s… there might be someone still inside… we… these boys…” he panted, pointing at two students who were hot on his heels.

“Why were they let through the barricade?” Chief Mortensen barked at a PC. The PC shrugged, “They kept insisting there is someone still inside, and wanted to talk to the person in charge.”

Eric stepped forward. “What’s going on, there’s someone still inside? Where?”

Elijah looked at the tall man and tried to contain his nerves. “My friend, Orlando, he was going to do some copying. He was going to ask Chris if he could just go in for a couple of minutes. That was just before eight o’clock.”

Chris continued, “I haven’t seen him and there was no one in the copying room, all I found was this.” He showed them the book he’d found.

“That’s Orli’s book!” Elijah yelled, “That’s the one he wanted to make some copies from, he said he had to return it to Professor Wenham in the morning.”

Chris shook his head. “But there was no one in the copying room, just the book and one of the machines was still on.”

“Maybe he went to the loo, or perhaps he was in the storage room getting paper or something?” Billy interjected.

Eric held up his hands. “Have you seen this… Orlando at all Mr…?” He asked Chris.

“Lee, Chris Lee. No, I haven’t seen Orlando, not in the building or outside.” He looked around as if he expected Orlando to magically appear behind him, “but he does come often just before closing time and if I was making my rounds he could have slipped inside and gone up to the fourth floor.”

“So why hasn’t he come out with all the commotion going on?” Chief Mortensen demanded to know.

Chris looked at him, worry written all over his face. “If he was in the storage room when I checked earlier… he can’t come out because I locked the copying room… like I do every night.” He sounded a little defensive.

Elijah paled and Billy put an arm around his shoulders. “Damn it, Billy, why didn’t he go earlier, why does he always have to go at the last minute?”

Billy started to lead Elijah away, Chris following them, Orlando’s book still clutched under his arm.

“Mr Lee?” Eric called after him. “Where is the copying room exactly?”

Chris walked back. “On the fourth floor at the back,” he pointed, “on the right.”

Eric nodded and then looked up as two fire engines from Poole pulled up, its crew jumping out and efficiently setting to work. Their Senior Officer came over to Eric immediately. “What’s the situation, Officer Bana?” he asked.

“Fire possibly started on the third floor, all the public was evacuated, but we may have a person locked up on the fourth floor in the copying room at the back.” Eric relayed the circumstances quickly.

The other man frowned. “Locked up?”

“Yeah,” Eric sighed, “no one knew he was in there, his things were found presumed forgotten, and the place was locked for the night, but he’s missing at the moment. We’re about to do a sweep of the building, the fourth floor has priority though. I’m also going to have to alert Weaving in case we need to upgrade.”

Eric turned to look at his crew. “Brad, I want Czokas and Monaghan doing the ground floor, I need a team of yours that can cover second and third floor together with Jackman and I’ll sent Bean and Urban up to the fourth.”

Being first at the site meant that Eric was in charge and Brad knew it, he readily agreed and went to prepare his men.

“Bean, Urban!” Eric yelled.

The two men made their way over to Eric while their places at the hoses were immediately taken over.

“Someone maybe locked up in the copying room, fourth floor at the back. I want the two of you to go up and find this Orlando kid.” With a nod, he dismissed them, they knew their duty.

***  
He paced agitatedly up and down; he’d been able to get close enough to overhear their conversation. 

Someone missing, possibly locked up, slipped inside without anyone knowing.

_That’s Orli’s book!_

He blinked confused, all his self-confidence gone, then his face-hardened again. 

No! 

He was not stopping now, not while he was so close, while revenge could be his any moment.  
Then his shoulders slumped again, but the boy, Orlando, he had no part in this.

What was he supposed to do now?

***  
Orlando first heard the sirens and wondered where they were going. When he realised they were coming closer, he stood and walked to the door, cursing the fact that there were no windows. He had no way of finding out what was going on, if he’d had his mobile he could have rung someone and would have been out of here by now, but it was still in his jacket at the house.   
After roughly ten minutes, he suddenly noticed the smell, as if something was… burning.

“Oh shit!” Orlando gasped, as he realised where the smell must be coming from and to make things even worse he noticed tiny wisps of smoke curling through the small strip of space between the door and the floor.

He started banging on the door again, shouting as loud as he could, kicking the door but it didn’t even make a dent and realised it was useless, no one could hear him.

He backed away, knowing there was no way out through the door, he looked up at the vent in the ceiling, if only he could reach that.

He grabbed the chair and pulled it under the vent but couldn’t reach even on tip toes, the vent was still a good distance away. Orlando looked desperately around him, wasn’t there anything he could reach it with? 

He stepped down from the chair and went into the storage room searching for something, anything he could use. 

There wasn’t.

He could try to build a tower with the boxes of paper, but before he could do that he would have to drag them into the copying room…

He returned to the copying room, noticing with dread that the smoke was getting heavier, slowly penetrating the entire room. 

Desperately he climbed on the chair again, stretching to his limit not getting any closer to the vent. 

“Right,” he mumbled to himself, “desperate times call for desperate actions.” Placing his feet a little wider apart he braced himself and then jumped, his hands reaching for the vent’s grill but it stayed out of reach and the chair nearly toppled when he came down again, he managed to regain his balance just in time though.

Orlando looked at the door again, more smoke was slowly making its way inside, he really needed to get out of here. He braced himself again and jumped up, reaching out with both arms but not even getting close. This time when he came down however, his foot was caught between the seat and the back of the chair and he crashed to the floor.

Thumping his fist on the floor in frustration, he breathed harshly and immediately started coughing. “Bloom, use your brain, you’ve got to get out of the smoke,” he reminded himself. He pushed himself to his feet and with a cry sunk back to the floor again clasping his left ankle.

Wiping a trembling hand over his sweaty face, he tried to feel what was wrong, during the fall he must have hurt his ankle somehow. He started to cough again and the smoke was really starting to irritate his eyes.

Orlando was getting really scared now, he couldn’t get out of the room not through the door and not through the vent, the smoke was getting thicker and would likely kill him before he saw any flames.

Somehow, that thought didn’t reassure him very much.

It was getting hotter inside and he carefully rose to his feet again keeping a hand in front of his mouth to breath. He limped towards the storage room and opened the door. The smoke hadn’t penetrated here as much as in the copying room yet so he quickly closed the door behind him.   
Inside he started to remove his sweatshirt, watching disaster movies was good for one thing, sometimes they told you something useful. Careful not to aggravate his painful ankle any further he kneeled down and started to stuff his sweatshirt in the small space between the door and the floor, hoping that it would take longer for the smoke to penetrate the room.

Then he slowly limped towards the back of the storage room and sank down to the floor – keeping as close to the floor as possible was another one of those useful things movies told you about, he just hoped they were true.

Not wanting to give in to his desperation Orlando started to recite everything he had studied earlier for his Environmental Law. A thought flashed through his mind, he had started his course on Ecology and Wildlife Conservation to be able to do things for the environment, not just for the fun expeditions you could take part in. This would really be a lousy way to die, before he’d achieved anything useful.

***

Sean and Karl were checking their gear, Karl grabbed some extra rope and Sean put a small axe in his belt. He was checking the meter on his breathing apparatus when a voice right behind him interrupted.

“You think you can do this, Bean, without fucking up?” Chief Mortensen stood watching him with a scowl on his face.

“You’re an arsehole, Mortensen, why don’t you go and direct traffic,” Sean spat at him.

As Mortensen advanced on him, Eric appeared out of nowhere, suddenly stepping in between the two. “I would appreciate it if you stopped harassing my people, Chief; they’ve got more important things to do right now. I expect you to behave more professionally.”

To Sean’s surprise the Chief backed down, shrugging and with a nod of thanks to Eric, he finished checking his gear and he and Karl made their way to the entrance of the library.

At the last minute, Sean turned round, and seeing the librarian, he called him over. “I’d like the keys to the copying room, if it’s in anyway possible to still use the lock it’ll be a lot faster with a key than using my axe,” he said as he held out his hand.

Without protest, Chris pulled the keys from his pocket and handed them to Sean. Sean stuffed them in his left breast pocket and disappeared inside the library.

The ground floor was mainly free of smoke, but as soon as Karl opened the door to the stairwell, the smoke was clearly visible. Turning on their torches and putting on their oxygen masks, they started to climb the stairs, the smoke turning thicker with every step they took.

*** 

“… but I have to talk to Chief Mortensen, it’s very important,” he told the young PC again.

“I’m sorry, sir, I really can’t disturb him now, it’ll have to wait.” The PC wanted to walk away, but the man grabbed his jacket sleeve.

“Please, just… just give him this,” he fumbled in his trouser pocket and pulled something out which he handed to the PC. “He’ll want to talk to me then.”

The PC looked doubtfully at the item in his hand, not really keen on having the Chief’s wrath poured out over him, but the man looked rather stressed. With a sigh, he nodded at the man and walked towards Chief Mortensen.

“Sir!” he called out as he approached the Chief.

The Chief turned round, not looking very pleased. “What is it?” he asked impatiently.

“There’s a man over there, Sir, who wants to talk to you, seems to think it’s very important.” The PC said quickly, watching with trepidation as the Chief’s face turned into a thundercloud. 

“What were you thinking, man, I don’t have the time for nonsense,” was the terse reply.

“I know, Sir, that’s what I told him, but he insisted that I give this to you.” He handed the item to the Chief and watched in surprise, as the Chief’s face seemed to scrunch up in pain.

“Sir? Are you alright?” he asked a little concerned.

“Who gave this to you?” The Chief’s voice was soft and shaky.

The PC just pointed and the Chief hurried off into the appointed direction.

 

Viggo took a deep breath, then he approached the man the PC had pointed out to him. “Where did you get this?” he asked, holding up the silver lighter for the man to see.

“Have you forgotten already, Viggo?” was the soft answer.

Viggo inhaled sharply, “You?!” he clenched his hand around the lighter tightly. “Why are you here, what do you want? Where have you been? I thought…” he shook his head.

Soft laughter made him look up. “Do you have to ask why I’m here, Viggo? I thought that would be obvious.”

Nodding, Viggo sighed. “Revenge.”

The man in front of him nodded, his face tight with tension. “Yes that is… was the idea, now I heard there’s someone locked up?”

Viggo affirmed with a short nod of his head.

“Orlando?”

“That’s the name those kids gave, yes, why?”

“I know him, he’s a good kid, he shouldn’t… he shouldn’t get mixed up in this.” The man sighed. “Viggo, there’s something I have to tell you.”

 

Eric wondered why Chief Mortensen was rushing towards him suddenly, a look of almost panic on his face.

Two minutes later Eric was yelling into his communicator to his crew, while Brad was on the radio to the station.

All hell had broken loose.

*** 

Karl and Sean were slowly progressing they had made it to the third floor, and were about to ascend the stairs to the fourth when suddenly Sean’s shoulder communicator crackled to life.

He pressed the button, indicating to his superior that he was listening.

“Bean, Urban… you… to… … now!” There was too much interference and all they heard was static.

They moved back from the stairway until they were in front of the door to the third floor and Sean removed his mask, pressing the button on the communicator again. 

“Sir, you’re breaking up, repeat, you’re breaking up!” He had no way of knowing whether he could be heard so they waited.

“Bean, Urban, can you hear me? You have to get out _now_! There is a bomb in the building!” 

Sean and Karl looked at each other, then Sean pressed the button again. “Acknowledged,” he said grimly.

“You can turn back if you want to,” Sean told Karl, “I’m going to find that kid, I don’t want someone else dying on my watch.”

He turned away when Karl tapped him on the shoulder, lifting his mask to be able to talk. “Don’t be a fool, Sean, if you’re going up, I’m going up.” He put the mask back in place, determinedly.

They were about to head for the stairs when there was a loud rumble and before they could react, the door in front of them was blown off of its hinges, hitting Sean in the shoulder, throwing him backwards against the opposite wall where he slid to the floor, dazed from the impact.

Karl was less fortunate, the door smacked full into him and he landed on his back, his head hitting the stone floor hard, his oxygen mask breaking the skin around his mouth and nose as the remains of the door tumbled down on him.

***

One floor above, Orlando’s breathing had grown more difficult and the smoke made him cough so much that his throat was hurting. He had taken off his t-shirt and was keeping it against his mouth and nose, lying down curled up on the floor of the cupboard where the smoke was less heavy.

There was a loud roar earlier and it had felt as if the whole world was shaking, boxes fell down from the shelves and one of them hit his already hurt ankle.

He was terrified that the building was collapsing around him; why else would everything shake… unless there was an earthquake...

“Please… let someone find me… please,” he whispered, closing his eyes as smoke induced tears ran down his face.

tbc


	3. Part 3

Part 3 

He was led away by Viggo himself, just before he was gently pushed into the back of a police van he looked up at the Library; there was quite a lot of damage.

“Was he… is he still inside?” he asked Viggo. 

Viggo closed his eyes briefly. “He and his colleague Urban are still inside and as far as we know this Orlando kid too.” 

He settled himself in the car, staring out of the side window at the flames still greedily consuming everything in its path. 

It seemed he finally had what he wanted…

~*~*~*~

More fire engines had arrived a little while ago and they were preparing a team to go inside and search for survivors.

Eric looked at his watch; they hadn’t been able to make contact with the two fire fighters inside the building. He feared the worst, but hoped in his heart that it was just the communicators that weren’t working properly. 

He looked up when he felt someone approach, their Watch Officer Hugo Weaving had arrived at the scene and would be in charge as of now. 

Having been briefed on the way over, all Eric had to do was tell him the latest and then join his crew in their rescue operation.

~*~*~ *~

Orlando coughed, he had been doing little else the past ten minutes, the smoke was now steadily penetrating the storage room, Orlando knew it wouldn’t be long before… No, he shook his head; he wasn’t going to think about that.

Instead, he thought of his mother and sister who he should have called more often, of Lij and Billy with whom he always had the greatest fun, and even of Professor Wenham who could talk so passionately about his last trip to Borneo. 

Borneo… it wasn’t ever going to be, was it? 

He was gasping for breath as the sweat and tears were running down his face, the smoke slowly suffocating him. 

Orlando lay back down and buried his face in his arms, his shirt pressed against his face, curling in on himself trying to breathe as shallowly as possible and closing his eyes against the smoke.

~*~*~*~

Sean slowly shook his head to clear it; he was half sitting, half lying against a wall. His hand moved to his face and he recognised the oxygen mask, it was still in place. He frowned; there was something very important he should be doing…

Then he remembered. 

Fire… library, he and Karl going to search for… KARL! 

He groped for his torch and flashed it on; shining it to his left, he saw a dark shape lying motionless. 

Sean pushed himself off the floor but with a gasp he lowered himself again clutching at his left arm; it hurt like hell. He picked up the torch again and shone on his arm. There was a large tear in his sleeve and he could see a deep and nasty-looking gash in his arm, blood steadily dripping from it. Something must have sliced it open, perhaps one of the door hinges when the door smacked into him. 

Taking a deep breath he carefully pushed himself up onto his knees, he had to get to Karl. He crawled over to the still figure and used the torch to get a better look. 

“Oh shit,” he mumbled when he saw his friend covered by debris from the explosion. Sean shuffled closer and started to remove everything from Karl’s body. Then he took off his glove and reached for the pulse in his neck, it was irregular and too fast. 

Sean reached for his shoulder communicator and realised it was smashed; it hadn’t survived the impact with the door. Carefully reaching over Karl, he tried his communicator, but only got static. He checked Karl’s airway and made him as comfortable as possible, it was all he could do for now.

He looked around him; there was a lot of debris and smoke. He reached for the meter of Karl’s breathing apparatus and squinted at it – twelve minutes – so he had been out for a minute or two. They had air for roughly sixty minutes, so for now Sean was okay. Karl, however was not, he needed medical attention as soon as possible. 

He made his way to the top of the stairs and shone his torch down on the second floor, there was a lot of rubble and it looked as if it was blocked further down the stairway. There was no way he could get help for Karl first and then return to look for the boy.

He had to make a decision.

Returning to Karl, Sean turned his torche towards the ceiling, it looked pretty stable, he had to leave Karl behind and get up to the fourth floor to find out if the boy was still alive. 

Sean hated to leave Karl like this, but he knew that Karl would understand would agree with Sean that it was the right thing to do.

He tried the communicator again, still only static. 

Finally, Sean removed his oxygen mask and crouched down next to Karl’s head, his mouth close to Karl’s ear.   
“Karl, I’m going up to the fourth floor to look for the boy, I’ll be back soon. Stay still, I’ll be back for you.” He had no idea if Karl could hear him, but didn’t want to leave him without a word. 

He checked Karl’s pulse again, noticing it was a little slower than before, perhaps he had been able to get through to him and Karl had understood him. 

With a last touch to Karl’s arm he stood, grunting a little when his body let him know that the collision with a door and a wall wasn’t appreciated. 

Shining his torch ahead of him Sean made his way through the debris, the smoke was getting thicker and he knew that time was running out, it could be too late already for the boy. 

He tried to hurry as much as the smoke, the debris and his body would let him, the landing between the third and fourth floor was relatively clean of rubble but the higher Sean got the thicker the smoke was. 

On the fourth floor, he had to feel his way around, according to the librarian the copying room was close to the stairway. He flashed his torch around and as far as he could see, there was a long corridor with doors on both sides, which one would be the right door? 

He decided to try the first door on his left, it was closest to the stairs and he hoped it was the right one. 

The light of his torched illuminated the door and Sean noticed the lock was warped; he would never be able to open it with the key. On the other side it was hanging crooked from its hinges; maybe, just maybe he was having a bit of luck. He put his shoulder against the door and pushed hard, putting all his strength behind it. The door gave way and Sean almost tumbled inside. He shook his head as a dizzy spell overtook him. His arm was throbbing, he had nothing to bind the gash with and his sleeve was soaked with his own blood.

“Pull yourself together,” he mumbled. He pushed the visor of his helmet up and wiped his forehead before pulling it down again. 

His eyes scanned the room; the smoke was less heavy than in the corridor and stairwell. It had to be the right place, three large copying machines stood on one side, a chair and a high sorting table on the other. Next to the table was a door that would presumably lead to the supply room. 

Sean pressed the handle down and pushed against the door. It moved slightly then seemed to catch on something and he pushed a little harder, shining his torch and looking down. There was a piece of cloth caught under the door; it looked like a shirt or something similar. That could only mean one thing, that the kid was in there and that he was smart, he’d done one of few things you could do to delay the smoke a little. 

Sean pushed harder; he stepped inside the storage room, and moved the torch around, the first thing he noticed was a narrow back with smooth skin, a lot of it. 

The boy was lying on his front, his face buried in his arms, his upper body bare, another piece of cloth pressed against his face. 

Sean wanted to reach out and touch the skin trail his finger down the middle stroke it softly and… he blinked, what the hell was going on? He felt a little light-headed again, looking at his arm he noticed it was still bleeding; the loss of blood must be making him react so strangely. 

He pulled himself together and carefully rolled the boy on his back, he felt for a pulse, it was strong enough, he couldn’t have been out for long, his breathing was shallow though and then Sean decided to do something every fire fighter learned in the first week of training to never do. 

He took his oxygen mask off and placed it on the boy’s mouth and nose. If they were to have any chance of making it back to Karl, of getting out of this mess alive, he needed to share his oxygen or the boy would die within a couple of minutes. Sean wasn’t prepared to let that happen, even if he had to break the rules for it. 

“Come on, lad, breathe,” he encouraged Orlando. 

The boy suddenly started to cough, his hands pushing the mask away from his face. 

“Easy, lad, easy, it’s okay” Sean reassured him and placed the mask on the boy’s face again. 

The boy seemed to calm down at the sound of Sean’s voice and started to take deep breaths and finally his eyes opened. Large doe eyes looked at Sean, hazy and confused and Sean stared back into those eyes. 

A soft murmur made him blink and again he wondered what was happening. He removed the mask from the boy’s face and put it on his own, scolding himself for his lapse. 

The boy mumbled something again and Sean helped him to sit up. “What was that?” he asked wincing as his arm throbbed at the movement he made. 

“You’re a weird looking Angel,” the boy told him as he leant heavily against Sean, his curls brushing Sean’s chin. 

Sean laughed cynically, urging the boy to stand. “I’m no Angel, lad, far from it. Now come on we have to get out of here.” 

The boy looked even more confused and started to cough again. “Are you a demon then… or something?” he asked hesitantly as the coughing subsided. He was rubbing his eyes, obviously suffering from the effects of the smoke and unable to see clearly. 

It suddenly dawned on Sean that the boy must think he’s dead and either in Heaven or in Hell judging by his talk about Angels and Demons. 

“Lad,” Sean said impatiently, grabbing the boy’s hand. “You’re not dead, but we soon will be if we don’t get out of this smoke.” 

He picked up the t-shirt that had fallen from the boy’s hands and pushed it back into them, then he pulled the oxygen mask from his face again and held it against the boys. “Breathe deeply, then put the shirt against your nose and mouth.” 

The boy did as he was told and when Sean had put the mask back on he took the boys arm and started pushing him to the door. 

 

As soon as Orlando took a step, he cried out. “My ankle, I hurt my ankle earlier.” 

Sean pulled the door to the storage room open and put an arm around Orlando’s waist. “Come on, I’ll support you, but we have to go, now!” 

Orlando put his own arm around Sean’s shoulder and kept his t-shirt against his face, with his eyes blinking against the smoke, he hobbled through the door. 

Using his good arm to support the boy, Sean held the torch in the hand of his injured arm gritting his teeth against the pain. 

Slowly, too slow for Sean’s liking they made their way to the stairwell. He took a quick look at his meter, fifteen minutes had passed since he left Karl, which meant both he and Karl had oxygen for another thirty minutes. 

The boy didn’t have another thirty minutes. 

“This isn’t working,” he told the boy, “I have to carry you down the stairs, this is taking too long.” 

Orlando coughed and looked with red, watery eyes at the man holding him up. “What… what do you suggest?” he gasped dazed from the smoke. 

Without further ado, Sean bent down and lifted the boy at his upper legs. 

Orlando shrieked as he was thrown over a strong shoulder, clasping the man’s waist desperately. 

“Stop wriggling about,” Sean told him gruffly, “or we’ll both be down the stairs a lot sooner and I don’t mean that in a good way. 

Orlando froze, he didn’t want the man to lose his balance and he certainly didn’t want to tumble down the stairs in this position. 

Sean carefully made his way to the top of the stairs, he had to put the torch back in his belt to grab hold of the banister, feeling for the first step he then confidently started to descend the stairs, while the boy was holding him in a sort of death grip around his waist. 

He hoped Karl’s condition hadn’t worsened, he hoped his colleagues were on their way to get them out. 

He hoped they would get out of this alive, he pressed his lips tightly together, they _would_ get out of this alive if he had anything to do with it.

~*~*~*~

Eric heard it as soon as he and his crew entered the building, the shrill alarm of the Distress Signal Unit that every fire fighter had on him and that would automatically sound an alert whenever they were immobile for more than twenty seconds.

At least one member of his crew was either trapped or unconscious. 

They made it up quite easily from the ground floor to the first and from there to the landing between the first and the second floor, but a lot of rubble from the blast had landed on the second floor including in the stairway. 

The fire was under control but they needed to clear the stairs as quickly as possible because the smoke was still a treacherous killer. 

He pressed his communicator. “Pitt, we need more people here to clear the rubble, we can’t get to them.” 

There was a crackle, then. “Understood, on our way.” 

“Come on, lads,” Eric told his crew, “you know what to do.” 

The men immediately set to work. 

“Sir?” Dom asked behind him. “Do you think they’re alright?” Then he hesitated for a moment. “Do you think they’ve been able to find Orlando?” 

Eric understood the younger man’s worry, they were his colleagues and not only that, a friend of his was trapped inside as well, but he had to be honest. 

“I don’t know, Dom, the alarm indicates that at least one of them isn’t moving, as for Orlando…” He placed a hand on Dom’s shoulder. “You know he’s on the top floor, the smoke will be thickest there. Best get to work now; we need to get to them, then we’ll know for certain.” 

Within minutes more men arrived to help clear the stairway, making sure the ceilings were supported where necessary, they all knew what was at stake.

~*~*~*~

Orlando’s head was swimming; he was either coughing or drifting and bouncing up and down. He wiped his face for the hundredth time, the smoke stinging his eyes made the tears run down his face continuously.

How many steps did these stairs have anyway? 

The man carrying him was slowing down now, Orlando could hear that the man’s breathing was laboured; he knew that his own slender looks were deceiving, he certainly wasn’t a lightweight.   
The man must be as strong as an ox to be able to carry him like that, he was solidly build and, even teary eyed and in a desperate situation like this Orlando hadn’t failed to notice he had a nice arse. 

Being up close and personal, the way Orlando was at the moment it was hard _not_ to notice it. 

Then suddenly his whole world lurched and Orlando tried to hold on to anything he could, waist, arm, neck… 

“Christ lad, I’m only putting you down,” Sean told him a little annoyed as one of Orlando’s arms nearly choked him. 

Orlando let go immediately and coughed again. “Ssorry,” he stuttered, as he tried not to put any weight on his swollen ankle. 

Sean put an arm around Orlando’s waist again and helped him to sit down, then he took off his oxygen mask. “Here, breathe deeply a couple of times.” 

Orlando obeyed and watched as Sean put the mask back on his own face and walked to what turned out to be another fire fighter, lying flat on his back. Orlando gasped when he noticed the man had blood on his face and one of his arms was lying rather awkwardly. 

“What happened?” he asked his rescuer. 

“When the bomb exploded we were standing in front of the door and it slammed right into him.” Sean grumbled while he checked Karl’s pulse. 

“Bbomb?” Orlando stammered. “There was a bomb?” He wiped his forehead with a trembling hand and felt a shudder travel through his body. 

The other man just nodded his head. He reached over the wounded man on the floor and seemed to press something. 

At first Orlando heard nothing but static, than suddenly there was a voice. “Bean? Urban?” 

“Thank God,” the man said, “Sir, it’s Bean, Karl is injured, I need a stretcher up here fast. I’ve got the boy but with the smoke…” The man, Bean apparently, trailed off. 

“Sean? We’re trying to get to you, but the stairway is blocked, we’re working on it, but it could still be a while before we can reach you.” The voice sounded matter of fact, but the underlying concern was obvious. 

“Damn!” Bean growled, “Eric, we haven’t got time!” 

It was quiet than there was more static until the voice appeared again. “Can you move Karl?” 

Orlando watched as Sean… took of his helmet and dragged his hand through squashed, sweaty blond hair. “Jeez, Eric, he had a door blast into him, he may have internal injuries… I… I can move him, but what will it do to him?” 

It was quiet for a bit, the man on the floor wasn’t moving at all, while Sean was repeatedly dragging his hand through his hair. 

Orlando started coughing again, even though the smoke was less thick down here it was still irritating his eyes, his throat… everything, he was starting to get a headache as well. His eyes were on Sean though, watching him as he undoubtedly tried to decide what he should do. 

“Sean!” 

The voice startled them both. 

“Here, Eric” Sean answered quickly. 

“Stay where you are, don’t move Karl. We’re trying to make a passage, fifteen more minutes, try to hold out fifteen more minutes.” 

Orlando noticed Sean’s hand clenching on his helmet. “Eric, we haven’t got fifteen more minutes, we’re running low on oxygen and…” 

“How’s the boy, Orlando? Is he injured?” the voice interrupted him. 

The reply was rather flat, but vehement none the less. “He’s got a busted ankle and the smoke is going to kill him if you don’t get your arses in here soon!” 

It was quiet again, they could hear noises below them, could hear the men working to try and get them out. 

Sean got up and made his way over to Orlando, he crouched down in front of him, pulling off his oxygen mask and placed it over Orlando’s nose and mouth. “I’m going to take you a level lower, lad, there’s less smoke, you can hold out longer and they can get to you sooner.” 

He was about to remove the oxygen mask again when Orlando’s hand shot out and grabbed Sean’s wrist. 

“No!” he cried out hoarsely. “Don’t leave me alone down there, please, I don’t…” His eyes filled with real tears this time, “I don’t want to die alone,” he whispered. 

Sean gently removed the hand from his wrist and took it between his own. “You’re not going to die,” he said gruffly. 

Orlando shook his head. “You don’t know that… you don’t know if they will be in time… I don’t want to be alone.” 

Sean sighed, he removed the mask again and replaced it on his own face then he helped Orlando up and they slowly made their way over to where Karl was lying and sank down on the floor beside him. 

They shared Sean’s oxygen and the meter was sinking rapidly towards zero, until there was nothing left. 

Sean put his arm around the younger man, while he checked Karl’s pulse every so often. 

Orlando was glad Sean was there with him, the man’s presence was reassuring even though he knew time was running out. His headache was getting worse and his breathing grew more ragged after every new coughing fit. He grabbed Sean’s hand squeezing it with what little strength he had left.

“Thank you… for trying to…” he gasped for air, “…for trying to save me…” 

Then Orlando’s head sank to Sean’s shoulder and he didn’t notice when the man very gently brushed the curls from his forehead, he didn’t notice when help finally arrived. He didn’t feel Sean lifting him in his arms and handing him to Eric who rushed him down to the waiting ambulance. He wasn’t aware that the ambulance crew started resuscitation, that Dom was running anxiously back and forth between the ambulance and the second floor to keep Sean updated on his status. 

He didn’t see the tired but relieved smile when Dom told Sean that he had started breathing again, nor did he see Sean finally collapse when Karl was safely in the ambulance. 

He didn’t find out until much later. 

 

Epilogue

Two months later 

“I hate this and don’t you laugh at me.” Sean scowled at Eric as he tied Sean’s tie for him. 

Eric chuckled, “Don’t be such a grouchy bear, it’s an honour which you deserve to have, Sean and everyone agrees with me.” 

There were calls of ‘hear, hear’ all around. 

Karl walked slowly closer, his body still healing from his ordeal. “Just grin and bear it Sean and I have to agree with everybody else, you do deserve it. You risked your life to save Orlando and then you risked your life again while you stayed with me,” he patted Sean’s shoulder. 

Sean sighed and scowled at his dress uniform, he looked quite a sight with his left arm still in a sling, then he grinned, in a yellow and pink painted sling, because Orlando felt he needed to be cheered up. Orlando had been right; he definitely needed to be cheered up at the time. 

He had been rushed off to hospital immediately after his collapse, exhaustion, smoke inhalation and loss of blood being the main cause. He’d needed surgery on his arm twice and then got a nasty infection, which made him delirious with fever for a week. 

When he finally woke up Viggo – Chief Mortensen – had been sitting at his bedside. Viggo was the last person Sean wanted to see and he figured the other man felt the same, but then Viggo had started to talk.

~*~*~*~

Orlando stood in front of the mirror contemplating whether to wear a tie, he decided that the occasion was important enough to endure being uncomfortable for a while.

He sighed; if everything had gone according to plan he would have been in Iceland by now. After a long talk with his Physician and his new Tutor, it was decided that his lungs needed to recover from the smoke inhalation. Observing Geysers in Iceland would not be in his best interest right now. 

His thoughts drifted to the man who had been his Tutor until recently. 

He still couldn’t believe it, Professor Wenham, David, the man that had been helping him, coaching him with his studies had been the arsonist, the man who had not only set fire to the library and numerous other buildings but had also planted a bomb at the library. 

All because he wanted to have revenge, revenge on his brother Sean and the local fire brigade. Sean was supposed to have died in the fire and to make sure of that David had set a bomb as well. 

It seemed to be linked to a fire in a local detention centre ten years earlier; two inmates had died because no one knew they were held in the isolation cells. The only fire fighter, who knew about it because a wounded guard managed to relay the message to him, was busy settling an argument with his lover. 

David was the fire fighter and Viggo his lover, but David insisted that he had told Sean about the wounded guard’s message and that Sean was the one who had neglected to check it out. 

Sean being the senior fire fighter on the job was dishonourably discharged from the force. 

Within a couple of months, the truth was discovered as several people had witnessed David and Viggo arguing at the time David claimed to have been talking to his brother. Sean was reinstated and David had to leave the force immediately and was charged with manslaughter. Unfortunately, no one could prove if the inmates had still been alive when the message was relayed so there was insufficient evidence to convict him.   
He disappeared to return eight years later as Professor David Wenham at Bournemouth University; having apparently spent some of his time in Borneo working on the orang-utan conservation program.

“I still have a hard time believing he and the arsonist are one and the same man,” Orlando told his friends. “It’s scary to think he could be so friendly and kind to me, while at the same planning to destroy Sean.”

“When he found out you were in the building too, he was feeling some remorse which seems to be quite unusual.” Elijah said, while he tied Orlando’s tie. 

Orlando batted his hands away. “I can do that myself,” he insisted, “I think it’s a rather dubious honour when an arsonist feels remorse because I’m involved.” 

Billy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well the man liked you.” 

Elijah looked mischievously at Orlando. “As does his brother.” 

Billy snickered when Orlando blushed. 

“Wanker!” Orlando muttered. 

“Oh come on Orli, you know it’s true. Hmm, it is weird though,” Elijah mused. 

“What is?” Billy wanted to know. 

Elijah pointed at Orlando, “Two brothers falling for the same person!” 

“Elijah!” Orlando cried out indignantly, trying to slap Elijah who danced out of reach. 

“Children, children,” Billy admonished chuckling, “we’re going to be late for the ceremony.” 

Both Orlando and Elijah grabbed their jackets and hurried after Billy to the auditorium where the ceremony was going to take place.

~*~*~*~ 

Sean didn’t like speeches and he wished the Mayor and their Chief Area Manager would hurry up, he didn’t want to embarrass himself by nodding off.

“… and therefore it has been decided that he will be awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Bravery. Can I ask Fire Fighter… Bean,” Sean heard Eric and Karl chuckle at the Mayor’s hesitation, “… to step forward, please.” 

Sean grimaced a little as he stood and walked slowly past the first row towards the steps that would lead him to the stage. He passed Orlando on the way and took a swift look at the young man. He received a nod and a brilliant smile and Sean felt his step lighten and a smile of his own brighten his face as he climbed the few steps. 

Of course it was an honour to receive an award like this, it wasn’t given to just anybody. He looked straight ahead as the silver laurel leaves were pinned on his chest and he accepted the congratulations from the Mayor and their Chief who frowned a little at his colourful sling. 

Sean felt he hadn’t done anything special, Orlando needed to be rescued but Sean felt confident that Hugh or Marton and even Dom, who was just learning to be a fire fighter, would have done exactly the same thing. 

 

At the cocktail party, he was sipping his champagne in a secluded corner after he had shaken about a hundred hands, when he suddenly felt a hand on his good arm. 

“In hiding are we?” a voice chuckled beside him 

Sean looked up. “Yeah, but I’m apparently not very good at it.” He grinned at Orlando who had snuck up on him. 

“Don’t worry; I’m the only one who knows where you are,” Orlando assured him. 

“Sean sighed. “Good, because I’m fed up with shaking hands and saying thank you.” 

Orlando smiled. “I guess now it’s my turn to say thank you.” 

Sean shook his head. “You’ve done that so many times already, Orlando and…” 

Orlando held up his hand. “Yes, I know but not properly, not in the way I really wanted to say thank you,” he replied and stepped a little closer to Sean. 

“And in what way is that then?” Sean inquired a small grin on his lips. 

“Like this,” Orlando breathed and kissed Sean and when Sean didn’t reject him, but pulled him closer, he grew bolder and pushed his tongue in the other man’s mouth, searching and finding his mate. 

“I think I like this kind of thank you,” Sean commented when they pulled apart breathlessly. 

Orlando grinned at him happily, “Good because I’ve only just begun.”

The End 


End file.
